Reard House grant denied

August 15, 2014

By Staff

New: Aug. 15, 12:16 p.m.

Parks Director Jessi Bon shared some bad news with the Sammamish City Council on July 15.
The Sammamish Heritage Society is in the midst of renovating the Reard House, a nearly 120-year-old farmhouse, which sits on a portion of what will become Big Rock Park.
The house had not been built on the location, but moved there to help save it from the wrecking ball.
The house is located on what is known as Parcel B of Big Rock Park. The parcel is still owned by Mary Piggott, and she has committed to donating the land to the city, although there is no firm timeframe for the transaction.
The heritage society had applied for a $40,000 grant from the Washington Historical Society to help them with their restoration efforts.
The grant, however, comes with conditions that cannot be met. First, there must be public utilities available at the site. But the terms of Piggott’s donation generally forbid those, Bon said.
Additionally, once the work is complete, the house must be open to the public. Since the city doesn’t own the property, and doesn’t know when it might, it can’t be publicly accessible.
“We have reached an impasse, and we’re not going to meet the requirements of that grant,” Bon said.
The society will continue to raise funds for the restoration work on the house.
The city has made minimal contributions to the work, which has been virtually entirely funded by donations and grants.